The present invention relates to a connector assembly and in particular to a connector assembly having a terminal position assurance (TPA) device for restricting movement of a Tab-Down terminal.
Electrical connectors are provided with various devices for locking and retaining the terminals of a connector within the connector housing. Some types of terminals that are currently available are a Tab-Up type terminal and a Tab-Down type terminal. Each include a tab that is positioned along the body of the terminal. The specific location of the tab on the body of the terminal determines if the terminal is either a Tab-Up or a Tab-Down terminal.
One type of female connector currently available employs the Tab-Up type terminal. The cavity of the connector has a flexible arm that engages with and holds the Tab-Up terminal in place. A terminal position assurance (TPA) device is also provided in an effort to retain the Tab-Up terminal in place within the cavity of the connector. The TPA device includes a primary lock support and a secondary lock support. The primary lock support holds the Tab-Up terminal in place, and the secondary lock slides underneath the flexible arm. The secondary arm reduces or prevents the flexible arm from releasing the Tab-Up terminal once the secondary arm is locked.
One drawback to this configuration is that the current TPA device is unable to support the flexible arm in the event the flexible arm breaks or fails. Thus, if the flexible arm breaks the Tab-Up terminal can be inadvertently pulled out from the connector. Another drawback to the current configuration is that the cavity of the female connector and the TPA device are configured to receive the Tab-Up type terminal only.